Cedefop

The overarching objective of the initiative was to enhance labour market adaptability and effectiveness, as well as to strike a greater balance of labour market demand and supply by developing a system for workforce competence assessment by sectors and regions. The rationale of the Competence Assessment System can be defined, as follows: Forecasting the demand for labour force with specific qualification levels in specific sectors and regions. The policy goal, defined in section 2 were achieved through:
- Analysing and defining workforce competence requirements by considering EU, national and sector requirements and standards;
- Establishment of a Bulgarian Competence Assessment Network by sectors and regions and improvement of the coordination and information exchange of workforce competence assessment among national, branch and regional structures of the employers and trade unions and the responsible government institutions;
- Gaining national recognition and fostering prerequisites for the integration of the workforce competence assessment system in the future e-government so as to enhance adaptability and effectiveness, and to achieve a balance of the labour market demand and supply.

To reduce unemployment amongst tertiary-education graduates by helping them find productive and suitable employment through acquiring work experience and specialised additional knowledge suitable to market needs. At the same time help businesses/organisations to improve their productivity and competitiveness by employing highly educated young graduates. The programme focused on the integration of highly qualified young people into the labour market by providing practical on-the-job experience in a company for a maximum period of 12 months.

The main objectives of the project are: keeping more people in the labour market by improving their employability and promoting the reconciliation of work and family life; and improved productivity and enhanced competitiveness of enterprises. The Scheme aimed to facilitate the employment of economically inactive and unemployed persons, who have difficulty entering or remaining in the labour market by way of some form of flexible arrangement.

Public policy makers as well as social partners (associations of private employers) in the Czech Republic have been facing the problem of skill mismatch between the supply of skills of graduates from formal education and the demand for new/specialised skills continually generated in the labour market. It was decided to set up a platform for systematic cooperation between the two sides. Sector Councils are employer-led and publicly partly co-funded, and supervise expert groups, whose task is to monitor skill shortages and consult corresponding policy measures (Vocational Qualifications, National System of Professions etc). The activities of Sector Councils help to narrow the gap between requirements of employers (in terms of qualifications and competencies of employees) and the supply of workforce (both current and future), through identification of future needs and recommendations for improvement.

To contribute to maintaining and improving the vocational skills and competences of the participants in accordance with the needs in the labour market and to furthering competence development of the participants. The education and training committee's task is to develop labour market education that can meet the labour market needs for vocational adult and continuing education targeted at skilled and unskilled workers.

The policy instrument addresses the issue of labour shortages in the field of ICT. As there is a serious mismatch between the supply and demand of such workers, more active measures are needed in addition to classical ones, e.g. increasing the number of study places and engaging qualified foreign labour. This implies that the possibilities for retraining and in-service training for adults have to be broadened.
The policy goal is to improve digital literacy (information and communication technology skills) of adults. The rationale for the intervention is to provide active and intensive retraining opportunities in the field of ICT for adults with higher education (or discontinued higher education, 50% of the curricula must be completed), who currently work in other areas (or are currently unemployed), but in the future are interested in working as software developers or more general, in the ICT field. The instrument contributes to increasing and enhancing digital literacy of adults through active, intensive and agile retraining programme.

To develop career guidance in the national system of education seeking to cope with the current and future skills mismatch. The general goal of the policy instrument was to provide easily accessible and high quality career guidance services and to guarantee that the development of the career guidance system in Estonia is systematic and sustainable.
The policy goal was related to lifelong learning and the development of human resources, specifically the goal was increased participation in lifelong learning according to the possibilities and needs of the population. The development of the Career Guidance System in Estonia contributes to the reduction of the future skills shortages through the following tasks: development of the national system of career guidance in the system of education; development of career education in general and vocational schools; development of the provision of career information and career counselling in regional information and counselling centres, including the creation of quality assurance system; development and introduction of ICT applications in guidance and counselling (questionnaires for choosing suitable occupations and the ability to recognise suitable professions etc); and strengthening of cooperation and information exchange within the institutional network in the fields of education, training, guidance, youth work and labour market in Estonia.
As the policy goal was to increase participation in lifelong learning, the instrument contributed to it by methodologically and systematically helping youth in their (career related) decision making process and making career studies and career planning part of their ordinary, everyday education. Furthermore, with the introduction of ICT applications, digital literacy was improved which nowadays is an essential part of lifelong learning. Institutional cooperation in the field of career guidance and counselling was strengthened through the creation of the Cooperation Council (Koostöökogu), which united various ministry representatives, youth organization representatives and employer federations etc. Also, during the programme period, various temporary working groups were assembled to solve relevant issues.

The aim is to increase the number of jobseekers trained in line with companies and sectors' skills needs. Training for jobseekers is chosen after local diagnosis of companies and sectors needs.

The policy goal is the creation of new jobs and the support of entrepreneurship at the local level. The TopSA include actions such as training and education, work based learning and apprenticeships in private enterprises in Greece or abroad, the preparation of business plans, specialised research and evaluation services for start-ups, support for legal and tax issues, etc.
The goal of TopSA is that beneficiaries are able to:
- establish their own businesses that will benefit from the characteristics of their area
- qualify for other subsidised investment programs
- develop skills that will meet the identified needs of local firms that will hire them.

The policy goals were the following: to reform the contents and structure of vocational training; to develop/introduce a modular training system; and to strengthen the links between education and training and the economy.
A new phase in the modernisation of the VET system began in Hungary in 2006, which concurrently meant renewal of content, methodology and structure. The key concepts of the new training structure are modularisation and competence-based training. Together with this, the content of vocational training has also been updated, and new professional and examination requirements have been developed. The Regional Integrated VET Centres (TISZK) were established from consortiums of 6 to 8 vocational schools in 2006. TISZKs provide a professional learning environment for theory and workshop-based practical classes of IVET. The training workshops are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. TISZKs constitute a network of multi-purpose and multi-functional institutions that meet the needs of youth VET, adult education and further education efficiently and economically; are able to respond to changes in labour market requirements; and stimulate real cooperation and planning among partners contributing to performing tasks.

The policy instrument aims to address skills mismatch/gaps and to meet the evolving needs of the labour market through training and upskilling, with company groups, businesses, employees and the unemployed. The goal of Skillnets is to sustain Ireland's national competitiveness. The current rationale behind Skillnets is based on Ireland’s National Skills Strategy 2025, which is to increase the supply of skills to the labour market, and to strengthen the role of employers and training providers. Through it's different programmes, it meets the policy goal by offering support and funding to all levels of the labour market, e.g. by developing new programmes that address emerging skills gaps with FSNP, or supporting management development training opportunities and mentoring support for SME managers with ManagementWorks.

Helps the unemployed to obtain a job through apprenticeship contracts and train them in craft/manufacture skills to fill the skill shortages in the sector. The project aimed to promote the training and allocation of jobs for around 20,000 young unemployed people in the sector of traditional craft and manufacture. There were two areas of intervention:
1) Operational activities through: (i) the establishment of 17,913 apprenticeship contracts for hiring young unemployed; (ii) the creation of 134 workshops ("botteghe di mestiere") for on-the-job training of unemployed; (iii) up to 1,000 firm transfers (trasferimenti d'azienda) with the purpose of transferring the heritage of skills from old entrepreneurs to young entrepreneurs; and (iv) about 3,000 traineeships for NEET (young people not in education or training) living in the four Convergence regions (Campania, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily).
2) Actions to promote and strengthen the cooperation between public and private actors in the labour market.

To ensure relevant and comprehensive information about skills demand and supply in the sectors of the economy. The goal of SECs is to promote VET effectiveness and quality of VET by promoting cooperation between state institutions, municipalities, employers and their organisations, trade unions and professionals to deal with human resource development issues. It aims to also improve the quality and efficiency of vocational education according to the needs of national economy sectors, as well as addresses vocational training directly in the fields where there is the largest number of labour force and the skills that will have to be upgraded most of all. The descriptions of sectors provide structured and detailed information, which can be used for the design and implementation of different skill mismatch policy measures. This information includes: data and forecasts on the macro-economic development of sectors of the economy, including the demand for workforce; data and forecasts on the development of the workforce in the sectors; and data on the structure of occupations and qualifications in the sectors. This instrument provides necessary information for the work of SECs and the development of occupational standards and other measures dealing with the matching of supply of skills in the education system and demand for skills in the sectors of economy.

The main goal of the policy is to fulfil specific sectorial needs, by providing training and to create a sub-system of high qualification development at a work place. The rationale for the intervention is strengthening the potential of human resources. The instrument covers the whole country and a wide network of employees and employers.

Supplying young people with information about the present situation and trends in the regional and global labour market, to help them in making educational and professional decisions; supplying vocational counsellors, teachers, parents with the same range of information to make them able to help young people in their decisions; and monitoring the labour market for education authorities. Support for decision making for pupils, young graduates, career counsellors, parents, regional authorities, and school authorities is provided by popularizing analyses of regional labour market.

Comprehensive support for vocational education in the Małopolska region, aimed at improving its quality. The Strategy prepared by Małopolska Voivodesip (Malopolska Voivodship is a regional government unit/regional public authority) is aimed at comprehensive support for the vocational education system in the region, with the use of instruments available in the Human Capital OP and in the Regional Operational Programme. The emphasis is especially put on co-operation between schools and enterprises, as well as organising internships.

The policy goal is to better adjust the IVET system to labour market needs, in order to supply occupations in demand to the labour market and to prevent unemployment of IVET graduates. The intervention aims to better align supply and demand in the labour market. The instrument contributes to this by changing funding incentives for selected fields of study in IVET, to steer regulatory decisions of regional territorial units, which are founders of IVET schools in Slovakia.

The instrument addresses the skills mismatch in the economy and aims at linking employers' demands for skills with labour supply (via education and training). This instrument is the third (final) phase and continuation of previous projects National Register of Occupations I and II. After defining occupational standards that reflect employers needs for skills, and linking them to education and training (first and second phase), this instrument was finalised by the creation of the information portal with job classifications.

The policy instrument aims to reduce disparities between qualifications and labour market needs by increasing the qualifications of the personnel employed in the industry, in order to contribute to the competitiveness of employees, enterprises and the Slovenian economy in general. The aim of the competence centres is to improve the competences, productivity, creativity and innovativeness of employees and to strengthen the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy. The instrument supports the following activities:
- establishment and operation of the competence centre project office.
- development of an HR development function (development/upgrading of the competence model, defining competence profiles for selected jobs, identifying competencies deficiencies and competencies of the future, development of new training programs and models/systems for systematic internal knowledge transfer).
- development of employees´ qualifications through the implementation of training.
- networking with partners in the field of human resources development.
- informing professionals and the rest of the public.

The problems addressed are the lack of skills for green jobs and environmental problems. The policy goal is to provide skills for green jobs to promote the greening of the economy and employability of workers. The final policy goal is to promote employment and competitiveness of the private sector through environmental transformation and greening. Thus, the instrument has three linked goals (environmental, economic and social). The programme was initially (2007-2013) focused on employed workers, but on the new ESF period (2014-2020) focuses on unemployed workers as well. In addition, the programme includes support to green entrepreneurs.

The rationale is to carry out qualitative research about selected occupations, in order to identify the skill shortages and the main changes in the skill demands. This information is taken into account in the design of new VET diplomas and in the update of the contents of the already existing VET diplomas. Thus, VET provision should match better labour market demands, improving the employability of VET graduates and the capacity of companies to access adequate skilled workers. The final goal of the instrument is a correct matching between education and labour market demands. This is seen as necessary to reduce unemployment and to have a skilled workforce that enables economic growth.

The policy goal is to develop a training system that is fully focused on customers, businesses and employees, aligning skills potential with growth investment. By changing the way funding flows through the system, and to place responsibility and reward for investment more squarely with employers for employer-facing programmes, such as Apprenticeships. The Employer Ownership of Skills pilot is a competitive fund open to employers to invest in their current and future workforce in England. Government will invest in projects in which employers are also prepared to commit their own funds, in order to make better use of our combined resources.